Across startups, scale-ups, and enterprise clients, a familiar pattern emerges: the heavier the tech footprint, the harder it becomes to move fast, innovate, or even just deliver on customer basics.

But there’s a new model shaking things up: the Forward Deployed Team. And when you pair it with AI-first engineering? That’s when the magic happens.

The Ever-Present Problem: Technical Debt

Every organization thinks they’re alone in feeling weighed down by outdated code, black-box systems, and tribal knowledge siloed in a handful of engineers' heads. You’re not.

We had a recent discovery conversation with a mature healthtech client who said, “We lost years just fighting tech debt. Meanwhile, our feature set fell behind, and customer churn skyrocketed.”
Sound familiar? Technical debt is more than an engineering nuisance—it’s a drag on morale, an anchor on innovation, and—if left unchecked—a trigger for revenue loss and talent churn.

Modernizing isn’t just a matter of updating code. It means rebuilding documentation, automating workflows, and, sometimes, rethinking how teams operate entirely.

So... What Are Forward Deployed Teams?

Forward Deployed Teams aren’t just contractors or augmentation resources. They’re cross-functional, high-accountability pods—sometimes dropping in for quick, AI-powered innovation sprints, other times digging in to remediate deep legacy debt.

The difference?

• We embed. We don’t “advise from afar”—we shoulder real delivery responsibility, work side-by-side (in person or virtually) with your product, ops, and engineering teams, and align with your business outcomes.

• We prioritize impact: If a feature is blocking revenue or supporting sales, it gets tackled now, not “when there’s time.”

• We merge execution and consulting: Expect both clear recommendations and hands-on implementation, not just a “report you get to figure out.”

Enter: The AI-First Engineering Pod

One of the biggest game-changers is our AI-First Teams. These senior developers and designers use generative AI to cut dev cycles by 80%. Yes, that’s real—weekly proof-of-concepts, with validated designs and rapid feedback from both users and stakeholders.
In one project, sales needed a new customer-facing “AI nurse” POC to secure a deal. In a normal cycle, that would be a quarter-long project. With our GenAI-driven pod, our client was demo-ready in a week.

But it’s not just about velocity. It’s about knowledge transfer, empowering your staff to maintain and extend what’s built, and avoiding the pitfall of “throwaway prototypes.”

Common Patterns, Real Results

From PE-backed SaaS companies to public health platforms, here’s what we consistently see:

• Tech debt as the core culprit—manifesting in slow cycles, rising support headcount, and mounting operational costs.

• Manual, “Excel Sheet” operations that absorb weeks of staff time—but could be replaced with a tool, dashboard, or automated workflow.

• Legacy code “nobody wants to touch.” Features owned by a single engineer or team, now a bottleneck for the business.

• Stakeholders stuck between building new and fixing old.

“We can’t pause all innovation just to fix tech debt—but we also can’t ignore it and remain competitive.”

The Forward Deployed Model: How It Works

1. Managed Pods

   Long-running, cross-functional teams focused on legacy debt, core stability, and feature uplift. Retainers, 3–12 month+.

2. AI-First Sprints

   Weekly, design-led sprints leveraging GenAI for rapid concepting and validation—perfect for internal tools, new-idea incubation, and enabling sales.

3. Innovation Sprints

   4–8 weeks, focused, fixed-scope, and ROI-driven. Targeted automations or new client-facing features that move the needle, fast.

And yes—AI Teams are deeply woven in. They ship prototypes, automate manual work, and accelerate both “quick wins” and long-term transformation.

What Success Looks Like

• Platform stability and documentation, so new hires (or partners) aren’t lost on Day One

• Quick, visible wins for sales and ops: new tools, automation, or features poised to drive revenue or cut churn

• A measurable reduction in support tickets and manual rework

• Culture change: delivery velocity and accountability modeled by high-performing, embedded teams

It’s About More Than Code

Companies have tried offshoring, consultancies, and dev shops—but true step change demands a team that will roll up its sleeves and move the needle. Our Forward Deployed Teams, especially our experienced AI pods, do just that—combining the strategic mindset of top-tier consultants with the accountability of true build-and-own engineers.

We don’t just execute—we collaborate, document, and upskill. When we leave, your tech and team are better off than we found them.

Is This For You?

If you’re ready to:

• Cut feature cycles from quarters to weeks

• Automate manual ops and free up your best people

• Break the cycle of “band-aid” tech fixes and legacy debt

• Accelerate the rollout of new, AI-powered products or tools

Let’s talk. At OneSeven Tech, we don’t just build software. We help companies rewrite their own velocity story—starting with the problems others are too afraid (or too busy) to solve.

Interested in how a Forward Deployed Team, including AI specialists, can change your product—and tech culture—for good? Book a strategy call.